OPI Midnight In Moscow

One of my favorite super dramatic vampy nail polishes is OPI Midnight In Moscow. This is another one from the Russian Collection that came out in Fall 2007. It's a deep charcoal with red shimmer. In low lighting it's velvety and almost black, but in the sun it has this glowing, smoldering look.

The formula is great, it's neither thick nor runny. I needed just two coats for opacity. These pictures are without topcoat, and you can see even on its own the polish is quite glossy.

Zoya Nidhi

My manicure today is Zoya Nidhi from the Sparkle Collection. It's a bright, apple-y red with gold and pink/blue iridescent sparkling flecks. A number of people noticed and complimented me on this color, so it's bright and sparkly enough to catch some attention.

Application is quick and easy. It needs just two coats for opacity, and each coat went on perfectly and dried rapidly. I know sometimes people have trouble with Zoya polishes drying super slowly, but I don't think this is one that will give anyone problems. Even though this came out as part of a summer collection, I think it's a very festive and Holiday appropriate red. In fact, I may try combining it with Zoya Ivanka (the sparkling green from the same collection) a little later in the season.

Chanel Strong — SoHo Story 2010

I admit, I bought this polish for the name. I couldn't help it! And it seems only appropriate to feature it on this blog. Chanel Strong came out last fall when the SoHo boutique had just been remodeled. This was part of a special makeup collection that tied into that store. I've been to that particular boutique a couple of times (most recently to buy Blue Rebel) and each time I have received excellent customer service. Sometimes high end designer boutiques can be intimidating, but the SoHo Chanel is completely delightful. The clerks are very friendly and nobody looked at me funny for clomping in there wearing my tennis shoes and band t-shirt. So if you're in lower Manhattan and you're in the mood for some Chanel, don't hesitate to stop by the corner of Spring and Wooster.

The polish looks more exciting in the bottle than on the nail. In most lighting conditions it appears almost black. But if you look closely, you can detect the plummy shimmer. To me it has a very velvety appearance, even if it is very dark. The application is a dream. It's nearly perfect in one coat, but I prefer to do two thin coats. The formula is thick but not hard to work with. The viscosity makes it incredibly easy to control where the polish goes, and avoid the cuticles.

Orly Butterflies for Pink Wednesday

Happy Pink Wednesday, everyone! This week I have the classic pink jelly Orly Butterflies. It's not quite a neon, but it's very bright and it does have a certain almost neon glow in the sunlight. The second picture best represents what it looks like under most lighting circumstances.

This polish is a cinch to apply. You need three coats for opacity, but I had no trouble with cuticle drag or evenness. It has a squishy translucence. I still had a slightly visible nail line after three coats, but that's what makes it a juicy jelly.

Nubar 2010 VS Sally Hansen Hidden Treasure

Here's a comparison of two very similar flaky topcoats: Nubar 2010 and Sally Hansen Hidden Treasure. I chose purple and red as the base polishes because I think each one brings out different colors from the iridescent flakes.

Purple: Orly Charged Up; Red: Sally Hansen Cerise Noir.

I also compared the two flakies over another pair of purple and red polishes which are slightly lighter. To be honest, I'm not really sure what my logic was at the time. How is this more helpful than the last picture? Who knows! But I might as well show you all the pictures I took in case it might be useful somehow! =)

Purple: OPI Funky Donkey; Red: OPI Manicurist of Seville.

One of my first observations is that Nubar 2010 is not quite as dense as Sally Hansen Hidden Treasure. It's a very subtle difference, but still there. I'm not sure if this is because HT has more flakes packed into the formula, or if it's due to the overwhelming mop-like brush that the Complete Salon Manicure has. I definitely prefer Nubar's brush to Sally Hansen's. Aside from that, I think the two polishes are basically identical. They both seem to have the same spectrum of iridescence and react to the light in the same ways.

Sally Hansen Hidden Treasure was a limited edition release a couple years ago, but Nubar 2010 is available on their website for $7.50. The ease of obtaining 2010 is another point in its favor, I think!